Wurmfyrth
'Wurmfyrth '''is a craggy desert Shard of middling size, populated by nomadic clans eternally on the run from the demiplane's destructive namesake -- dragons of all broods chromatic and metallic, as well as the kobold tribes descended from them. It contains only semi-permanent settlements, as all buildings are constructed with easy teardown in mind. Oncoming draconic hunting broods give little in the way of warning. The majority of the desert comprises the dragons' fiercely-defended hunting lands, with a depressingly small "safe zone" around its borders that most denizens of Wurmfyrth exist in. Most permanent buildings and ruined remnants of old kingdoms still exist inside the hunting lands, either wasting away or claimed as brood lairs. Societal structure Though the constant movement that defines life on Wurmfyrth denies them any kind of solid borders, there exist three primary Fyrthian "nations," each dominated by a strong racial identity: The Cyrhhic Clans (Elves) The elves of the Cyrhhic clans are a hardier, more wiry breed than their wood-elf cousins in the Loam, and more welcoming of outsiders -- housing a minority of humans and half-elves, as well as metallic dragonblooded. They claim a strong racial heritage from the "thunder lords" (dragons) that rule Wurmfyrth and respect them religiously; Cyrh craftsmen avoid using dragonhide and dragonbone in their buildings, tools, and weapons, and the broods tolerate Cyrh settlements much farther inside their hunting grounds than either of the other nations. Government of each clan is conducted by a shamanic theocracy, with a cross-clan ruler referred to as the Dragon (in title only) elected by a council of his or her peers. The current Cyrhhic Dragon is Vuthraan the Painted, whom the wyrms recognize as a speaker for all three nations in their rare nonviolent dealings. ''Players wishing to play Cyrh elves may represent them with the standard Player's Handbook race or the Wild Elves found in the Dungeon Master's Guide. The House of Wo-kai (Orcs) The Fyrthian orc families were once disparate and bound in servitude to the dragons, but in the centuries since the Breaking, all have rallied under the banner of the rebellious Wo-kai. Of the three clans, theirs is most governed by pride, and most likely to refuse help from the other two -- for acceptance of another's good will is viewed as submitting oneself as subject to that person's power, and for a people defined by their defiance of bondage, to be so indebted to another is considered shameful. For this reason, orcish pride is often misinterpreted as abrasiveness or stubbornness by outsiders, and relations between the House and the other two nations are less an alliance and more a neutral acceptance of the others' existence. Government is effected by a senate of familial matriarchs, the Free Mothers, of whom Wo-kai Brala is the eldest and most respected. The Wo-kai are by far the most maligned against the dragons, and the sentiment is mutual -- theirs are by far the most effective dragon-hunters and trappers, and in stark contrast to the Cyrh, Wo-kai will gladly use draconic body parts in their crafts as both morbid intimidation and an open defiance of their former masters. Most Wo-kai settlementsp prominently feature dragons' horns and tusks as structural cornerstones. The Wo-kai's eponymous House is, in fact, an actual building -- a semi-mythical citadel from an ancient orcish empire, abandoned deep inside draconic hunting lands. Brala's iron leadership is largely based upon promises of a Great Reclamation, pushing ever deeper into the dragons' realm in order to lay claim to the last remnants of orcish history. While dragonblooded are loathed and exiled from the ranks of the Wo-kai, half-orcs are treated with only tepid reception, bearing the simultaneous honor of being family and the stigma of Requiring Help from "true" orcs. The Azure Sultanate Fyrthian humans, half-elves, and half-orcs may all be found under the monarchical rule of Sultan Fe Fyrth, a careful, charismatic ruler who occupies a middle ground between the Wo-kai's hatred of dragonkind and the Cyrh's worship of them. The Sultanate's "kingdom," a broad network of ramshackle buildings constructed atop the backs of an enormous desert breed of turtle, travels in a slow, eternal circuit around the borders of the hunting lands -- with expeditions ducking into the dragons' domain only as needed to acquire food and resources, maintaining neutrality toward Wurmfyrth's masters. Rather than proactively hunt dragons down, Azure dragonslayers only defend the turtles when hungrier dragons push outside of their usual range, otherwise adopting a "live and let live" policy that the Wo-kai deem cowardly and the Cyrh view as a lost opportunity. The Dragons & Dragonborn Little is known about the internal structure of the hunting lands except that the dragons have passively accepted the existence of kobold tribes inside their borders, viewing the lizard race as long-lost children, though chromatic wyrms often demand tribute from them. Dragon and kobold alike live in lairs either carved out from natural caves, cactus groves, or the crumbling ruins of civilizations -- already derelict even by the time of the Breaking. Many of the older wyrms would have been alive prior to the Breaking, but little has been extracted from them in the way of knowledge, and most aren't eager to share. The reptilian dragonborn are accepted as brethren in the eternal hunt. While revered as prophets and avatars of the dragons' will in Cyrhhic circles, the Wo-kai and Azure typically abandon any dragonborn who manifest within their number -- but no dragonborn bodies are ever found when their nomadic wanderings bring them through the same regions again. It is thought that dragonborn find company amongst their patrons in the hunting lands. Goblins? Parties of what appear to be goblins, usually no larger than a dozen in number, are occasionally sighted from far off -- but no evidence of a goblin civilization has ever been found. Relationship with the Planeswatch Paradoxically, while the Planeswatch often recruit Watchmen from Wurmfyrth -- as life on the Shard is necessarily rough and conducive to the martially-inclined -- they are rarely ''called ''there, most of the clans preferring to handle matters internally. Popular sentiment holds that tipping the precarious balance between dragon and mortal in the desert by introducing external forces could well amount to hitting a hornet's nest, potentially riling the dragons' concerted wrath. Category:Shards Category:Settings Category:Planeswatch